Block diagram modeling environments, such as Simulink® from The MathWorks, Inc., allow engineers to build dynamic system models using a block diagram representation. The block diagram representation can be a graphical representation of a mathematical model of the dynamic system. Simulink enables a user to build a signal-based model in which blocks in the model are connected through signals that pass between connected blocks. Simulink provides reusable components called library blocks for the creation of block diagram models. Simulink also provides a subsystem construct for integrating library blocks and/or other Simulink blocks into an encapsulated unit.
The signal-based block diagram representations may be used, in some instances, to model a control system for controlling a physical system. The physical system can be modeled using the signal-based block diagram representations or schematic-based physical modeling tools, such as SimMechanics, SimDriveline, SimHydraulics™ and SimPowerSystems, all from The MathWorks, Inc. The schematic-based physical modeling tools provide schematics that show how physical components fit together to form the physical system. The connection lines in the schematics of the schematic-based physical modeling tools can represent non-directional physical connections, rather than the signal flow connections described above for the signal-based block diagram representations.
In conventional schematic-based physical modeling tools, a limited number of pre-built solutions may be provided for physical systems. Engineers may attempt to model physical systems using signal-based block diagram representations because the signal-based block diagram representations provide extensive block libraries and/or user-defined subsystems. In the block diagram representations, however, the signal flows between blocks make the block diagram model complex and difficult to read.